But on Tuesday, the actor had plenty to say about his nomination for best supporting actor in "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close."

“A lot of people told me I would probably be nominated, but you can never be certain," he told CNN. "And, it’s so wonderful, really. I’m thrilled! And, I’m also moved. After all, it’s my colleagues at the academy that give this honor."The octogenarian actor may have had some inspiration in playing a mute man, as he revealed that he was a shy youth. Acting helped, he said.

"When I was younger I was convinced I had to be an actor," von Sydow said. "I don’t know, age 15 or 16, I was. I was sure I wanted to be someone else."

He said his role in the film, which centers around a young boy coping with the loss he suffers on 9/11, was a "very emotional experience on a lot of levels."

"My wife and I read [the script] and we knew I wanted to be part of it," the actor said. "Even if we’re not all New Yorkers, we all participated one way or another in what happened that day."

And while his was not a speaking role, von Sydow still managed to build out his character's script.

"I didn’t have lines that I pronounced, but I wrote them, there were plenty of lines," the actor said. "The only difference is this guy doesn’t speak verbally – but he’s communicating."

Oddly, he delivered a nasty statement about modern Christianity as a character in Hannah and Her Sisters: "If Jesus Christ came back today and saw all the things being done in his name, he would not stop throwing up."

I've also enjoy Max over the years, from the Seventh Seal to Citizen X. He's one of a kind.

Max is one of the few actors who never acts when presenting himself. He is simply himself, an authentic, genuine human being, first and foremost. And very few can duplicate that. They have to "be on." That would be boring to the likes of Max Sydow. Good luck, Max!